Tag: Flag Protocol

Technically the use of the flag in this picture may not be correct but we still love the picture and think that this is a great use. The fact that the crafters of the flag rules did not think of a use like this does not mean it’s wrong. We think our flag is strong enough to endure the use of the flag to represent a father’s love for his new born child.

If we are going to be picky then we should call out the media for their mistake in describing this picture. Assuming the person in uniform is active duty then they are not yet a veteran. Veteran is a status after your active service and during active service this person is a sailor. We think the image of a Sailor with his 8 day old son protected by the flag is a strong and positive symbol. After all this is a person that puts their life on the line every day they wear the uniform. To some degree this is a positive symbol of the role of our military and why our military serves and protects the United States of America. Military service is about our nation, our community, and as represented in the photograph; our families.

We salute this Sailor for sharing his little reason for his service to the country.

As a flag enthusiast we would like to recommend that you use a cotton flag that has been flown before to soften up the fabric. Flag materials are designed to be tough so, doing as this caring father did, wrapping up the baby in a baby blanket is a good idea. If you ever attempt a photo like this be careful of the control of the fabric and test your skills with a bag of sugar first.

There has been some debate in our office on this story because the news articles are not clear on the gender of the parent. Some reference the parent as him and others as her. If we used the wrong gender in our editorial we apologize for that.